I always joke that my idea of roughing it is a Holiday Inn, but we were up on Mackinac Island and that can be a whole different version of roughing it. Most of the people in Michigan and some of the surrounding states are aware of the charm of the island and that it’s most unique feature is that there are no automobiles to be found (unless you count the emergency vehicles). One can fly there in a small plane, take your boat there or as we arrived on one of the ferry boats that go from the two peninsulas to the island. The first time one arrives there and sees a UPS truck on a barge, unloading the cargo unto a horse drawn wagon is quite the sight to behold.

I was tagging along with my Bride as she was up there for business, and one of her sisters and her family were up there to enjoy some time there as well. We were all staying at Mission Point which is the other main resort on the island, other than the Grand Hotel, and we have stayed there before. Mission Point was at one time a school a protestant school that was started to teach the native Indian tribes, it became a college for awhile and then became a resort and has changed hands several times, the last time was very recently and they have started to update all of the buildings. It is still an adventure to stay there, as the rooms are still quaint and even with individual heat pumps for air conditioning in the summer, it still feels like roughing it during the hot weather that we encountered. They still have a lot to update and my poor Sister-in-Law had a small accident, and the hotel really did not try to correct or cordon off the problem area, and thankfully she did not really hurt herself, but I can see someone else, really having a problem. We were having meal accommodations for some of the time that we were there, and the other family got to discover the island and some of the other restaurants. We also met at some of the casual restaurants at the resort to have some quick meals and of course some wines.

At one of the pubs, the Round Island Bar & Grill we had some glasses of De Loach Chardonnay 2014 which is a California AVA, which means that the fruit can be harvested from anywhere in the state and made at the facility. De Loach Vineyards used to label their wines “Cote De Loach,” but now there wines say “Heritage Reserve.” The wine was just a good basic Chardonnay and chilled was just what the doctor ordered with the high temperatures and the high humidity. One evening we were at Bistro on the Greens while the kids enjoyed glow in the dark miniature golf we were having The Original Dark Horse Sauvignon Blanc 2015. Dark Horse Wines also uses California AVA fruit and since we were just munching out side, this wine also fit the bill. One of the enjoyable parts of both of the spots that we ended up at, was the fact that one could watch the assorted liners, yachts and boats that ply the Great Lakes and the Straits of Mackinac.